


Just Needs a Little Work

by TheaHale



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 11:41:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2108526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheaHale/pseuds/TheaHale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heather Everett has been living in Beacon Hills since she was born. She knows of the fire that destroyed a family's home, killing the family while it burned. As far as Heather knew, they were all dead. When she was 14, she began restoring the old house, little by little. By the time a mysterious man comes back to the house, the infamous Hale House is almost completely restored. Soon after he returns, Thea begins to learn all about the town she had been living in--even the things she never wanted to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Derek Hale

I walked into the house, taking the time to admire everything I had done so far. The walls were whole again, the hardwood floors replaced, windows without a single crack, doors on their hinges, and most importantly, no proof there had ever been a fire. All that was left for me to do at this point was replace the furniture and do minor touch-ups with the paint. After two and a half years, the house was new again. Electricity worked in the house, plumbing worked, everything worked again. I had even managed to restore old pictures I'd found in the house and hung them up in hallways and rooms. 

Going into my favorite room of the house, I smiled as I took in the bright room. The walls were a soft blue and the hardwood floor was dark, making a beautiful contrast. The bay window on the right side of the room let in an amazing amount of light, making the room have a welcoming feel instead of the frightening vibe it gave at the beginning of my work. The bed would have a dark wood frame, matching the floor. The comforter would be an extremely light blue, lighter than the walls. A white dresser would be placed beside the door, near the bay window. On the left side of the bay window, there would be a bookshelf. I had been going back and forth with a glass bookshelf or a white bookshelf. I couldn't decide which would be better for the room.

For now, the only thing in the room was a paint bucket and some brushes. I never really hated the work the house demanded, but sometimes I wish I had just paid someone else to come do it all.

Picking up a brush and the bucket, I went to the left side of the room, finishing my work from yesterday. In a couple days, school would start soon and I wanted to make sure I had gotten the house to near perfection before then since I'd have school and my time with the house would be limited. The plan was to buy the house when I was old enough so I could use it while I went to my few years of community college in Beacon Hills before moving to a true university and getting my degree.

The front door opening tore me from day-dreams of life in college, in the house.

"Hello?" I called. "Dad? I told you I'd be out here all day today!" Footsteps could be heard from the first floor and no response came. "Dad?" I stood up, setting down my brush and brushing myself off slightly. I went to the doorway of the master bedroom and saw someone staring into the living room. All I saw of them was their black hair and the collar of a black leather jacket. "Hello? Who are you?" The person--man--looked up to me and dark, glaring eyes met mine. His jaw line was strong and very appealing, along with pretty much everything going on with his face. This guy--man--was extremely attractive. And pissed, I noticed.

"What're you doing in here?" he growled. He turned and went to the foot of the stairs and I saw his whole body. He obviously worked out but didn't care about the state of his clothing. His shirt had a rip in it on his right shoulder and his jeans were torn at the knees. The only thing in good shape was his leather jacket. "Are you going to answer me?"

"I, uh, I've been repairing the place for the past two years," I answered, my mouth suddenly very dry. "Who are you?"

"Why?" I gave him a confused look. "Why," he began, snarling, "have you been repairing my house?"

"Your house?" I exclaimed. "No one has lived here since it burned down years ago! Everyone who lived here died--"

"Obviously not because I'm here," he snapped. I paused, unsure of what to say to this strange man. Who was he? Why did he claim to own the house? Why was he so upset over this?

"What's your name?" I asked quietly.

"Derek Hale," he replied. Hale. Why did that sound so familiar? I played the name over and over in my head. Hale. I knew that name, but from where? Suddenly, I remembered the news reporting a fire destroying the Hale house, with most of the occupants inside of the home during the fire. This was the Hale house, but how did he survive?

"I thought they said everyone died in the fire," I pressed. "They said everyone inside died."

"Everyone inside did die," he snarled. "My sister, Laura, and I were in school when the house burned down." Derek Hale. This was unbelievable! "Now explain to me why the hell you're in my house?"

"I was repairing it. So that I could buy it then live in it when I went to college," I rambled. "I just thought no one owned it anymore, that they just kinda left it here to rot, I had no idea that you--"

"Are you almost done?" he asked sharply. I opened my mouth to question him, but he interrupted with, "Are you almost done repairing it?" I nodded quickly, my heart racing. I hope he didn't do anything to hurt me. I didn't know a single thing about his guy, he could be anyone, he could be a serial killer for all I knew. An odd look crossed Derek's face before he covered it with a frown.

"Finish then leave."

\-----------

The next day, I returned to the Hale house with headphones, just so I could ignore Derek. I knew nothing of him, I wanted to know nothing of him, and I was scared of him. He had remained in a crappy mood and seemed to want nothing to do with me--something I was fine with.

I entered the house and saw him staring at a picture I had hung on the wall.

"Where did you find this?" he asked me, not looking away from the photo. He sounded calm today, something I was not expecting. I studied him for a moment, noticing he was staring at the picture with sorrow and longing.

"In the basement behind some old furniture," I answered, stepping closer to get a look at the picture. In the picture, there was a woman kissing the cheek of a boy who looked rather miserable. "Who is that?"

"My mom and me," he murmured. 

Clearing my throat, I told him, "There were a lot more pictures, I've hung them up around the house if you want to go look around at them." He nodded then looked down to me. "How old are you?" He seemed surprised at my question.

"Nineteen." I nodded then moved to go up the stairs. "And you?"

"Sixteen." I didn't turn back to look at him, I only continued up the stairs. The guest bedroom needed work as well as the study. The study didn't have a bay window which I found upsetting and weird since there was a bay window in the kitchen. Although, the kitchen was right below the master...

"What're you working on today?" the deep voice asked, footsteps following me up the staircase.

"Study and guest bedroom," I replied in a mono tone. This guy actually wanted to talk to me? After yesterday it seemed like he'd never want me around.

"What do you have planned for the rooms?" I looked over my shoulder and gave him a weird look. "I figured since you've done so much work, I'd like to know what you'll be doing to my house and if I agree to most of it, then I'll help."

"You'll help?" I mustered out. "You're willing to help me with this?" He shrugged, giving a slight smile. A smile. Was this the same Derek Hale I met yesterday? A look of hurt passed Derek's face before he recovered.

"If it'll get you out of here faster, I'm willing to," he coldly replied. Ah, there he was. I continued up the stairs and went into the guest bedroom.

"This is the guest bedroom," I began, "in my mind. All that needs to be done is a few touch up spots for paint then furniture."

"Shouldn't we wait to do touch ups after we bring in furniture?"

"No, because we might get paint on the new furniture." I hadn't turned to look at him, but I knew he was nodding slightly. "One of the photos I found is in this room, too. I was going to put it on the dresser once we got it in here." I pointed to the window were the framed photo was sitting on the sill. Derek walked over to it while I went to the red paint and began dipping a brush into it.

"This is of my mother and my uncle," he told me. I didn't reply, trying to focus on painting the wall. Derek was quiet for a moment before setting the picture down and coming back over to me.

"All we need to do is this wall," I told him. "Then we go to the study and--"

"My mother would've loved you, you know," he said suddenly, causing me to stop talking and painting. I turned to him slightly, confusion clear on my face.

"What?"

"She would've loved you," he repeated, shrugging.

"Why?"

"You fixed a house for no reason and took great lengths to make it look brand new. Like the fire had never happened. And even after all this hard work, you're willing to let it go and still work on it for the owner. An owner who is a stranger to you."

"I'm a good person, I suppose." I was bitter about letting go of the house to Derek, but it wasn't something I could argue with. And after all the work I had put into the house, I didn't want him screwing it all up. This house was Derek's home, a place full of memories and tragedy, so I couldn't take that from him.

"You also did everything for the house that she never had the chance to." I looked at him and gave a questioning look. He was pretty focused on painting, but I knew he felt my gaze. "The fire kind of ruined her plans of everything." His voice was quiet and somber, making me look away from him. I couldn't even imagine what it'd be like to lose your entire family in a fire while you were at school. Just out of the blue, your house burns down while your family, your life, was inside and had no way to escape. 

"It--" Derek had begun speaking but then suddenly stopped, shaking his head. I stopped painting again and turned fully towards him.

"It what?" I asked. Derek was beginning to grab my interest, making me want to know more about him, his family, everything.

"It sucks losing everything in a day." His dark green eyes didn't sparkle like any other person's would, but that was understandable for him just from what I knew about him.

"Did you leave after?" He nodded.

"I never wanted to come back here. After everyone was gone, I never wanted to return."

"Why did you?" I had asked the question before I had even thought about it. I covered my mouth slightly before saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask."

"It's fine," he chuckled slightly, his eyes meeting mine. "I came back because someone told me my sister had been killed. My sister, Laura." My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to ask something but the look on his face cut me off. She really had been killed.

"So you're the last Hale then..."

"No," he muttered, shaking his head. I raised an eyebrow in question but he was already explaining, "My uncle Peter, the one in the picture over there, survived the fire. Somewhat, at least."

"I thought everyone... died?"

"I consider him dead. He's at the hospital and he's just... a vegetable. He's gone."

"Do you consider him gone because of that or...?"

"He betrayed me." I didn't respond, only watching Derek as he dipped his brush in the paint and began painting again. "He betrayed our whole family. He's dead to me. He was dead to Laura, too." Slowly, I began painting again, sensing the anger in his voice. It would be better described as hatred. You could tell he had trusted his uncle with everything he had at one point in his life. To be betrayed by someone you trusted with everything? The most painful feeling in the world. I would know.

"That's how my dad and I are with my mom," I quietly spoke, not turning away from the paint. "She had been the picture perfect mom. Cooked every meal, cleaned all day, baby'd you till you didn't want to be anymore, seemed so in love with both of us. Then, one day, I came home early from a sleepover and saw her with my uncle. My brother turned out to be my uncle's kid, not my dad's. So he's living with them now in wherever."

"Wow," Derek mumbled after a moment. "That's... something." I nodded and dipped my brush in the paint again.

"Why are you so talkative today?" I blurted after a moment of silence. 

"Might as well get to know you while you're here." I glanced over to see him smirking. "That is if you don't visit once we're done." I turned back to the wall.

"Who knows? I might run away and never return," I joked.

"Well, I hope you do." I looked over to him quizzically. "What? I like you. You're... my kind of person." I blushed and looked down, a small laugh escaping my lips.

"I guess you're my kind of person, too." I smiled over to him and his dark green eyes sparkled to me as he grinned back.

"Good. I'm glad I am."


	2. Beginning of the Bond

"Derek!" a voice roared from downstairs. The loud noise of the door slamming open and causing a picture to fall caused me to wake up slightly. I sat up quickly at the sound of the voice, fear making my body go cold. The door to my room opened and I could make out the shape of Derek in the doorway.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly. I nodded quickly, my heart pounding in my ears. "Just stay in here, I'll go take care of it." Derek then left, closing the door again. Who the hell would come to the house at--I looked at the clock only to see it was two in the morning--two to yell at Derek?

I laid back down in the bed and tried to listen to the muffled voices downstairs over my heart beat. I heard Derek faintly tell someone to go and he'd deal with them tomorrow when he wasn't trying to sleep. The stairs slightly creaked under Derek's weight as he came back up. My door opened again and Derek stepped in completely, closing the door behind him.

"Who was that, Derek?" I murmured. "What did they want?"

"Don't worry about it, Thea," he chuckled as he walked to the opposite side of the bed. He sat on the bed and I rolled on my side to face him.

"It's just weird that they just showed up in the middle of the night to argue with you," I muttered, my eye lids growing heavy again. I felt his hand on my head, playing with my hair slightly.

"It's alright, I'm going to deal with them tomorrow and fix the picture frame." My eyes opened at this and I groggily stared up to him. "And put a lock on that door." I rolled my eyes then closed them again, sleep and Derek's fingers running through my hair making sleep drag me down again.

"G'night, Derek," I mumbled. I could barely hear myself so I didn't know how he heard me.

"Goodnight, Thea."

\------------

Derek and I had grown close over the few weeks he had been here. Furniture was being brought into the house slowly and I had begun to move into the wondrous Hale house. My dad had been fine with it since he wanted to move soon. He wasn't home a lot and Derek's house was the perfect place for me to stay while I continued high school. Derek told me a lot about his family and of his life in Beacon Hills. The more time I spent with Derek, the more I felt I needed to be around him all the time. And it seemed like he could read my mind sometimes--maybe he just knew me that well already. There was something odd about him though, like something was different with him. Something really different. I just couldn't figure out what.

"You better hurry up," Derek called from downstairs, "or else you'll be late to school!" I rolled my eyes and continued straightening the piece of hair I was on. He just wanted me out before whoever was here last night came over. I felt a twinge go through me as I thought of the possibility of the person being a girl. Ex girlfriend? Angry girlfriend? Angry lover? The list went on and on in my head.

Wait. Was I jealous? Over Derek? No way. There was no way I was jealous over Derek...

With my hair completely straight, I walked out of the bathroom into the master bedroom, the bedroom Derek let me use, and out to the balcony.

"It's about damn time," he laughed. He turned to look up the stairs at me and I thought I saw his smile falter for a moment. "Took long enough. Let's go."

"You're taking me today?" I asked as I walked down the stairs. I grabbed my bag on the coat racks and swung it over my shoulder before turning to Derek. He shrugged in response and opened the door for me.

"Why not? Might as well." I shrugged a shoulder before walking out of the house and to his black Camaro. "I'll even come get you at lunch!"

"Don't worry about it, Allison and Lydia wanted to talk to me during lunch anyways." About you. I slid into the car and Derek grinned at me.

"Well, I'll be at your school during your lunch hour then. I have to talk to someone there." I gave him a look and he rolled his eyes. "Yes, the person who so kindly barged into our house last night." Our house? Derek blushed, noticing the same thing as me. "You know what I meant."

"Or do I?" I chuckled, nudging his shoulder with mine. "What did you mean, Mr. Hale?" Derek rolled his eyes, smile never leaving his face as we drove away from the house.

"Who at my school do you need to talk to, anyways?" I asked after a moment of silence. Derek wasn't a fan of the radio--I had found that out the hard way. I had been listening to music off my phone through my docking station and suddenly, Derek came into my room, grabbed my phone, and walked out of the room saying, "How the hell can you listen to this garbage?"

"A student named Scott McCall. I think he's in your grade," he replied, eyes glued to the road.

"Oh, I know Scott," I mumbled. "He and Allison have this thing going on. He suddenly got really good at lacrosse, too."

"He's on the lacrosse team?" Derek's voice came out low, like he was angry.

"Yeah, he's really doing good this season, too. There's a game this Saturday."

"Want to go to Scott's game Saturday?" Derek asked as we pulled up to the curb of my school. I gave Derek a smug look.

"Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Hale?" Derek smirked.

"So what if I am?" I blushed slightly before replying.

"Then I suppose I'll have to say yes." I got out of the car before anything else could be said and closed the door quickly. "Bye, Derek."

"S-see you later," he stuttered out.

Did I just make Derek Hale stutter?

"Thea!" I heard someone calling. I turned around to see Lydia and Allison waving at me. I began walking towards the girls, already knowing what they were going to say to me.

"Hey guys."

"Who was that?" Lydia wasted no time to get the gossip she needed. "Is he your boyfriend?"

I laughed before responding, "No, but his name is Derek Hale. He just gave me a ride this morning because my car is pretty low on gas." Allison raised her eyebrows at me, knowing I was telling a lie, but didn't say anything about it.

"So, Derek Hale. Didn't his family die in a fire a bit ago?" Allison asked. I nodded. "Isn't that the house you've been restoring?" I nodded again and a smile broke out on Lydia's face.

"You stayed the night with Derek Hale? Please tell me you got something out of that fine piece of ass!" I laughed at Lydia and Allison rolled her eyes.

"He didn't even get out of the car, Lydia. How can you tell he has a nice butt?" Allison sighed. Lydia shrugged and smirked at us.

"I just know these kind of things." I just shook my head at them both and chuckled slightly. Idiots.

"Hey Lydia," said a very flirty, yet awkward voice. "How're you doing this fine morning?"

"I'm fine, Stiles," Lydia muttered. Stiles had been in love with Lydia since elementary school and she had never once noticed him. Stiles never took a hint and kept trying for Lydia Martin, girlfriend of Jackson Whittemore, the captain of the Lacrosse team.

"Let's get to class, guys," Allison suggested quietly. I looked over my shoulder to see Scott walking towards us.

"Don't want to say, 'hi' to him?" I whispered to her as we began walking toward the school.

"No, he's been acting weird. Really paranoid about that Derek guy you were with."

I gave her a slightly confused look. "How?"

"He's always making sure I've never talked to him, that he never isn't around me at all, just really weird stuff." Allison shook her head. "Let's just get to class, I'll tell you the rest there."

 

Lunch came around soon enough and sure enough, Lydia flagged me down and quickly jumped in for gossip.

"Have you and Derek done anything?" she gushed before taking a delicate bite out of her pear. I shook my head before taking a bite of my Tokyo Joe's leftovers from the previous day. "Why didn't he come pick you up for lunch?"

"Because I told him I knew you would want to get as much out of me as you could in the hour we have," I replied. I took a sip of the Mountain Dew I brought to school this morning, and glanced up at Lydia. She was smirking, but over my shoulder. As I turned to look back, a soft breeze blew my hair in my face and I brushed it out of my way before making eye contact with Derek.

"Look at what we have here," she giggled. "Boyfriend just couldn't wait till the end of the day to see you!" I turned back to Lydia and glared at her.

"He's not my boyfriend, Lydia." She shrugged and grinned up.

"Would you like to sit with us?" she asked in a sickening sweet voice. I didn't have to look up to know it was Derek. He didn't reply to her and sat down beside me.

"I brought you new Tokyo Joe's," he said, setting the bag on the table, "because I know how much you hate eating leftovers of it." I grinned to Derek and grabbed the fresh, juicy rice bowl out of the bag.

"Thank you," I murmured. I opened the lid and saw my favorite bowl. "How did you know?" I looked at him in astonishment. 

"You ramble a lot when you get home after school." I blushed and began mixing the teriyaki sauce in with my white chicken and white rice.

"There is no way you two aren't dating," Allison laughed as she sat down beside Lydia.

"Right?" Lydia scoffed. "I was just saying that!"

"Can I have your leftovers since you won't be eating them?" Allison asked, taking the other bowl and setting it in front of her. I nodded, mouth full of deliciousness. "But seriously," she said before taking a small bite, "why aren't you two dating?"

"We just aren't," I snapped to them, trying to get the hint across that this isn't a topic appropriate for right now.

"Thea and I have our reasons as to why we aren't," Derek chuckled, patting my leg. "Just like why you and Scott aren't dating." Allison's eyes widened and she looked at Derek with shock.

"You know Scott?" she mustered out around rice and chicken. He nodded. "Are you two friends?"

"Not quite. I'm helping him with something," Derek said after a pause. I turned toward him slightly while swallowing my food.

"Did you get the chance to talk to him?" Derek nodded. "How'd that go?"

"Not as well as planned--"

"Allison," a strained voice spat. We all looked up and saw Scott standing next to Allison. "What are you doing here?"

"She's eating lunch with her friends," I snapped back. Scott McCall and I didn't get along well; he was just too odd for me. "So don't you dare start anything."

"I thought I told you to stay away from Derek," he snarled under his breath to her. I glared at Scott, anger building up in me. "He's dangerous!"

"I suggest you leave, Scott," Allison demanded, scooting closer to Lydia and away from Scott. Scott stood there for a moment, long enough to make Lydia snap, "Are you deaf? Leave!"

"Not taking the breakup well?" Derek chuckled to Allison as Scott stalked off with Stiles. I elbowed Derek softly, mentioning him to be quiet.

"I guess not," Allison muttered.

"Who would take getting dumped by Allison Argent well?" Lydia scoffed. I rolled my eyes at Lydia before taking one of the last few bites in my bowl. 

The bell rang and Derek turned to me. "I've got to go. I'll see you when school ends?" I nodded and gathered my things while Lydia and Allison stood up. Derek walked off, leaving me with his charming smile, and I heard Allison laugh at something Lydia said.

"There is no way you two aren't dating." I looked back over my shoulder to Derek and while he was walking away, it felt like part of me left with him. Like I was walking away with him. What in the world was going on?

**Author's Note:**

> So I know this is kind of a crappy ending but this is what I've got after a few dozen revisions. Let me know what you think about it and what I should change! :)


End file.
